UNITED
NATIONS, March
14 -- Why
can't UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon go to
El Aaiun in
Western
Sahara, even
to visit the
headquarters
of the UN
Mission for
the Referendum
in Western
Sahara?
And why can't
Ban's
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
answer a
simple
question about
his own
transcript(s),
sixty hours
after the
question is
asked?

On
March 13,
there was a
protest of Ban
Ki-moon in
Rabat, Morocco
that we
predict will
trigger a
canned
response (a
protest in
Jaffna, Sri
Lanka drew no
response at
all, despite
repeated
questions).

It was,
it now seems
clear, in a
ham-handed
attempt to
forestall such
protest that
the UN on
March 7
published UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric's
Q&A on
Western Sahara
only in its
English
transcript of
the day's noon
briefing, not
in the French
version.
Ham-handed and
UNtransparent.

On March 14,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
an upcoming
meeting it had
heard from
other sources
about. From
the UN
transcript:

Inner City Press:
Has there been
a request by
Morocco's
Foreign
Minister to
meet with the
Secretary-General
this week?

Spokesman Dujarric:
Yes.

Inner City
Press:
And will that
be an open
photo op?

Spokesman
Dujarric:
The meeting is
still… we're
still working
on the
scheduling of
the
meeting.
Obviously, it
will be a
photo op, as
it is usually
with every
Foreign
Minister that
comes to town.

On
February 29,
Inner City
Press directly
asked Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
replied that
Ban's trip
will be in two
parts -- it's
just that when
the El Aaiun
portion will
happen is not
known.

On March 7,
Dujarric
called in to
the UN Noon
Briefing from
- where else
-- Paris and
made much of
Ban's visit to
part of the
MINURSO
mission but
not its
headquarters.
Dujarric said
there would be
a second stage
of the trip -
to Rabat.

Inner City
Press: when
you called in
from Paris
about Western
Sahara, I've
looked at the
transcriptions,
the UN
transcriptions
of the noon
briefing that
day in English
and
French.
And in
English,
there's your
whole Q&A
about Western
Sahara, and in
French, it's
just not
there.
And I'm
wondering, is
there some
reasons?
They're both
working
languages, et
cetera.
What's the
reason for
that?

Spokesman
Dujarric:
I don't… I'm
not sure we
put out a
transcript in
French of my…

Inner City
Press:
No, in
English… in
the English
noon brief…

Spokesman
Dujarric:
I'm not sure
we put out a
transcript;
I'll check.

Twenty
five hours
later,
nothing. So on
March 11, even
as Dujarric
tried to deny
Inner City
Press any more
questions,
Inner City
Press asked,
UN transcript
here:

Inner City
Press: on
Western
Sahara, do you
have an answer
on the two
press
statements,
English and
French?

Spokesman
Dujarric:
No. But
I… we're
working on it.

Vine
here. Then
Dujarric
abruptly
walked out of
the UN Press
Briefing Room,
from which he
ousted Inner
City Press
directly on
January 29,
and indirectly
through
another on
February 19.

Working
on it? How
hard can it
be? At 6 pm on
March 11
Dujarric's
office called
"lid," end of
day, still
without
answering;
Dujarric said
something
about "two
weeks." Watch
this site.

On
March 7, Inner
City Press
asked Dujarric
if Ban had
even tried to
get to
MINURSO's
headquarters
in El Aaiun --
Dujarric
didn't answer
that -- and if
Ban hadn't in
his comment
distributed on
March 6 given
Morocco a veto
over the
referendum
promises even
in the name of
the MINURSO
mission.

Ban met
staff of
MINURSO - but
not at its
headquarters
in El Aaiun -
and said they
are ready,
after decades,
to help
organize a
referendum IF
there is an
agreement
between the
parties. So
Morocco has a
veto?

Dujarric
dodged this
too, saying
that Envoy
Christopher
Ross should
visit Rabat in
late March.
Inner City
Press asked if
Ban, now in
his final year
as SG, will at
least ask the
"Group of
Friends" on
Western
Sahara,
including
France with
its implicit
or secret
veto, to allow
the promised
referendum.

Dujarric said
he does not
agree France
wields a
secret veto --
again, no
surprise there
- but to watch
Ban's report
to the
Security
Council in
April. We
will.

Still,
many long
suffering
Saharawis say
even this
half-visit by
Ban Ki-moon is
better than
nothing. We'll
see.

On March 5,
Ban Ki-moon
said he was in
the regin "to
visit the
United Nations
Mission for
the Referendum
in Western
Sahara
(MINURSO). I
will visit the
team site in
Bir Lahlou, as
well as
personnel
performing
vital demining
activities. I
saw the
remarkable and
demanding work
the Mission is
doing in harsh
conditions of
the Hammada. I
also expect to
visit the
headquarters
of MINURSO in
Laayoune,
Western
Sahara, soon."

When?
And why not
say when he's
not doing in
now? And why
he canceled in
November (on
the off chance
he could go to
North Korea.
Priorities.)

Ban also said,
"I have been
heartened by
the faith
Sahrawis
people put in
the UN, its
principles,
and
international
law." If true,
has the faith
paid off?

Back on March
2, Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric's
deputy Farhan
Haq why Ban is
not going,
while wanly
claiming he
has the right
to do. UN
transcript
here.

Ban was
supposed to go
in November
2015 but he
canceled it,
thinking he
could get more
political -
read, South
Korea
electoral --
play by going
to North
Korea. But
then North
Korea turned
him down.

On
February 25,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric about
issues
including
Western
Sahara, after
three days
reporting on
the UN from
outside after
Ban's head of
Communications
Cristina
Gallach threw
Inner City
Press out
without due
process: petition
here; weird
pro Morocco
spin on the
ouster, here.

Now
ahead of Ban's
March 1 stop
in Spain -
will Gallach
be there? -
there is pick
up of the
fact that
Gallach is
Spain's
highest UN
official, and
that she
ousted the
Press from the
UN.

Will it be
resolved by,
or come to
head on, March
1? In defense
of Ban and
Gallach,
anonymous
troll account
has taken to
tweeting, now
at Spanish
journalists,
that Gallach
is fine and
didn't throw
Inner City
Press out of
the UN on two
hours notice
without once
speaking to
it. But those
are the fact.
Among the new
troll
account's
followers are
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric and
four UNCA
board members,
plus Reuters
bureau chief
Louis
Charbonneau,
who has a
history with
this, see
here.

On February
26, Dujarric
said, "the
Secretary-General's
right to visit
any
peacekeeping
mission, but
there is the
de facto
authorities in
that area
would need to
provide the
clearance for
the plane to
land."

So, he really
DOESN'T have
the right, and
isn't really
pushing for
it. Inner City
Press on
February 26
asked
Dujarric, UN transcript
here:

Inner City
Press: I
wanted to ask
what the
Secretary-General's
goals are for
this Western
Sahara
trip.
What is he
seeking to
come out of
it? Does
he… would he
like to see a
referendum
with
independence
as a
goal?
What's he go
into it
looking
at?
Thanks.

Spokesman
Dujarric:
Obviously,
the… you know,
a lot… a large
focus will be
on the
humanitarian
situation.
He'll be
visiting the
camps near
Tindouf, and
it is also
part of his
preparation,
obviously… he
will report on
the trip in
his upcoming
report, which
is scheduled
for April.

Humanitarian,?
We'll have
more on this.

We'll
see. UN
President of
the General
Assembly
Mogens
Lykketoft
announced a
trip to Europe
and Morocco;
particularly
as the bribery
case against
former PGA
John Ashe
proceeds, with
two guilty
pleas and also
indicted
former
Dominican
Republic
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
(and South
South News
executive) Francis
Lorenzo found
to NOT have
immunity,
taking
Moroccon
government
funding for a
trip to
Morocco with a
Morocco-provided
staffer,
particularly
(but not only)
if not
addressing the
obvious issue
of Western
Sahara, seems
ill-advised.
We'll have
more on this.

Mogen
Lykketoft,
meanwhile,
couldn't bring
himself to say
Ashe's name,
only referring
to the
President of
the 68th
General
Assembly
session.
Lykketoft, who
allowed his
Office to be
used for
fellow Dane
Helle
Thorning-Schmidt
to campaign
for the top
spot in the
UN's refugee
agency UNHCR,
said he will
be making
reform
proposals. We
will be there
- with
questions for
Lykketoft.

Ban
again
mentioned what
he told Inner
City Press at
his last
stakeout, a
task force
under his chef
of staff
Susana
Malcorra. But
as Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Dujarric, with
all due
respect, Malcorra
accepted one
of Ng's South
South Awards,
for Ban.
And as note,
Gallach went.
We'll have
more on this.